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As I look around the Landscape of America from my Perch here I am appalled and disgusted at what I see. Most People are like The Walking Dead...bunch of Zombies. We are being Screwed, Cheated, Lied to, Deceived, Laughed at, Mocked and SOME are making fortunes off of us. WHY is this? WELL....most are asleep at the switch. Nobody is engaged or informed. Most can't think for themselves and just spit out crap they hear on their favorite Talk Show. Kids are not learning to be well rounded Citizens and are NOT Taught American or World History. The Music and Movie Business has lost it's nerve and just spits out this Pablum because they are afraid of their sponsors. I watch Happy Talk Talking Heads on the Business Cable and Regular Channels and want to throw up. It's horrible and I feel as if I'm screaming as loud as I can and all I can hear is the sound of my own voice. Nobody is Listening and Everybody is asleep. AMERICA is asleep and dumbed down that I believe we are not going to be around much longer. SPIN JOBS are everywhere....Up is DOWN, Left is Right, Right is Wrong.....UGH...... WAKE UP AMERICA WHILE WE SLEEP our Country and Society is being LOOTED by thieves and cretins.

I write songs about it that's what I do.It's amazing how one idea can really make a difference.Look at Thomas Paine's Book Common Sense.I DON'T just complain but write about things and try and show people other ideas.What do YOU Do?B

I am reminded of a story about a group of church people in Germany who were tasked with moving a grand piano from one room to another. They could not figure out how to do it.

Finally, as they stood around the piano, the pastor said to all, "wherever you are standing, lift." Each person lifted and they easily moved the piano to the next room.

I often think of that, and it spurs me to small actions, like writing a letter of making a phone call. Lift where you stand. That's what you're saying about your songs, and it's true and important.

When I was growing up, society drilled into us that it's not "polite" to talk about politics. It is important to stay away from controversial issues with friends and family, to keep the peace.

I think that this is the biggest piece of propaganda ever to be foisted on our society. If we don't talk about the important issues of our day, then who will?! We leave it to only a few to discuss? That seems to be a huge dumbing down of our population.

If something is political and controversial, it probably means that it is of great importance, in some way or another. Or, on another level, it means that our lives are being infringed upon by the government.

I don't care if you paint your walls blue or yellow or pink. It's not my business and it's not controversial.

However, if a law was passed, saying we all had to have pink walls...it would become political and controversial.

Since it would then become political, does that mean that we're not supposed to talk about the color of our pink walls, since it will upset the social apple cart?

As more and more laws are passed, aimed at controlling our lives, more and more topics become political, and thus taboo to talk about.

We are left with very dull matters to discuss in "polite company" at that point.

Talking about politics simply means talking about who we are and what we believe. How can we ever truly know a person, if we don't know their politics?

I have a family member who told me that she never divulges who she votes for, not even to her husband and children. I think-- what a horribly DULL woman she is! She can't even share herself with her own children?!

While we sleep lots of awful things can happen.Nobody wants to talk about Religion or Politics because NOBODY seems to have their receivers set correctly. TO Much MY MIND IS MADE UP DON'T CONFUSE ME WITH THE FACTS...lol

Lots of people cannot think for themselves so they need a Talk Show Host to tell them what to say and think. SCARY STUFF..

Good Back and Forth Conversations are important if they are a Dialogue and not a two way monologue. Talk back and forth and LISTEN....ugh.

Oh Well.....I posted a song here called "WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD"...which says it all. I think it's Important and a responsibility of Songwriters to write SOME songs that can change the world....show the way.....be trailblazers. The Power Structure today in mainstream music is not on board with this and is very cautious and conservative.....mostly afraid of Sponsors and Activist Groups.

A Great Song can Change the World.....Let's get busy. I have many at barrydbutler channel on yotuube.

I am in the process of writing a song that compares things that are OK to some that are not. For instance, heaven forbid that you let your nipple slip out or smoke a joint or drive more than a bit over the speed limit, but it's OK to carry a gun and kill someone if you are standing your ground.

When "WE'RE ALL BEING SCREWED" - someone is profiting from it. I gave up fighting the "good fight". Don't want to be a sacrificial animal any longer. Though may make a "Battle of the Alamo" type stand-off when I'm cornered.

My brother's fighting the East/West Corridor going through Maine. Destined to pass 500 feet from his Ponderosa. http://stopthecorridor.org/ But sooner or later it will happen. Money rules!

Imagine a world, where no one watched television any longer, no one hung on the every manipulated word of any "talking head".....where no one chose an absurd "lesser of two evils" in the name of their chosen party politic.

The more time one spends, giving negative attention to negative actions, the more power negative actions have.......by virtue of getting attention.......any attention.

Throw your television away, only then, will the real world come into view.....and you might see that it's not as bad as they would "have you think"

I'm going to see it.WE STILL are the Potential City on the Hill.Great Potential but we are losing our way.Too much apathy and too much greed running the show.BUT I don't want to leave.....I want to stay and help make it better.

I am in the process of writing a song that compares things that are OK to some that are not. For instance, heaven forbid that you let your nipple slip out or smoke a joint or drive more than a bit over the speed limit, but it's OK to carry a gun and kill someone if you are standing your ground.

Problem is, if it's not ok to carry a gun, then only the bad guys have them.

I agree, anything but traffic violations is ok, but you WILL get a ticket. That's where the money is. It's so easy to catch people speeding and ticket them, but harder to stop drug dealers and put them in jail, when they not only dont make money, but lose money!

Imagine a world, where no one watched television any longer, no one hung on the every manipulated word of any "talking head".....where no one chose an absurd "lesser of two evils" in the name of their chosen party politic.

The more time one spends, giving negative attention to negative actions, the more power negative actions have.......by virtue of getting attention.......any attention.

Throw your television away, only then, will the real world come into view.....and you might see that it's not as bad as they would "have you think"

What about the internet? LOL, TV is harmless, the internet is a place for every know it all blow hard to give their opinion, bash the president, bash the government, bash celebrities and their family, bash religion, bash God, bash the schooling system, bash the economy, bash companies, bash the very sites where they comment!

Must have been a different experience being President or celebrity before the internet, or even before TV, they would actually believe everybody loved them back then

The internet is the great equalize....lolLike everything else on the Planet......Great Good and Great Bad.Can't JUST trust what you read or what people tell you anymore.....even Religious People.I'm working on a new song called "PAY TO PRAY"....about Mega Churches and others constant begging for money for their new mansion or Boat.You can go in a closet and PRAY.Don't forget Jesus and The Money Changers.Tax Free money also....Scam City and a sucker born every second.

Hey JOHN.....That was SOOOOOOOOOO Nice of you.Thanks.....Most of the time a feel as if I'M SCREAMING AS LOUD AS I CAN AND ALL I CAN HEAR IS THE SOUND OF MY OWN VOICE.Well.....I guess I've felt my mission has always been ( past45 years ) is to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the hopeless. Every once in awhile I get an amazing e-mail and it feels great. I write a lot of Pro Life song to Give voice to the Voiceless unborn babies being slaughtered in the womb. I wrote a song called "MOMMY I'M HUNGRY'....and got a wonderful e-mail from a girl who was homeless and hungry for a long time and how my song meant so much to here. Or about my song HARD TIMES ON MAINSTREET.....get lots of mail from Blue Collar guys having hard times....One of the songs I hear about the most is DON'T START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME......lolSO.....Since I figured I'll never MAKE ONE DIME from any of my songs I continue to write songs about real people and things and just put them on barrydbutler channel on youtube.....I'm leaving ALL my songs ( over 360 now ) on youtube and don't care if anybody makes money off them or not. I'm 69 now and have cancer and won't be around too much longer SO.....at least I'll leave something of myself when I'm gone. A footprint that I lived here.B

Keep writing and posting those videos. Maybe you will never know if you are making a difference, but it certainly seems like you are touching a few strangers -- which is more than most can claim. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Charles......Diagnosed 10 months ago (out of the blue ) with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma.....decided against chemo and radiation and an on Mostly Raw Plant foods, Juicing and on 5 anti cancer supplements....Still have all the swollen nodes on the outside and still have no other symptoms. I wrote two songs about this....one what it was like to have the intense push back from Family, Friends and other Docs about NOT taking their Toxic treatment called DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE"...and a Fantasy I dreamed about a young boy, a dream, brain cancer and a healing tree called THE HEALING TREE....all up at barrydbutler channel on youtube.Take care.....Don't get cancer. PREVENTION and DIET is KEY!!!!!

Yeah Barry...sorry to hear about your health...remember attitude is important too.

I actually came here specifically because I just read a news item that the world is closer to all out war then ever because

1) weapons of mass destruction are in the hands of many different groups, and some of these groups by their nature are almost impossible to fight

2) there are no vigourous grass roots political or peace movements and those that try to arise are drowned out by extremists, intolerance or shut down by governments...meaning governments themselves are not held in check

3) no one is singing protest songs like Imagine or Blowing In The Wind

Hey John, I cut my teeth in the 60's and was in MANY Protest Marches and started writing Protest Songs. TODAY.....the Powers that BE just don't want them anymore.....They want Vanilla songs that don't offend anybody. Country Radio is a total sell out with songs only about Trucks, Drunks and Babes....hey sounds like a good title.....lol

I have a really cool song called WOKE UP AFTER 35 YEARS and is the signature song in my Musical and Mythical Band BARRY AND THE BOOMERS.....He or I had a car wreck in 1967 after signing the first record deal and went into a coma for all those years. The songs starts when HE wakes up and how he forms the Boomers....

Oh Well...I write a lot of songs like that and I'm sure many do also....JUST NO MONEY IN IT.....but God is ALWAYS watching....lol

Protests, letter writing, songs, and benefits are all great. But in most cases, that is all people do. They want everyone else to change but aren't willing to change or make sacrifices themselves.

As Gandhi said, you must be the change you want to see in the world. Most of what we don't like in our world we continue to vote for everyday with the most powerful vote we have, the only one that really counts, our dollars.

You can't expect others to behave any different than you behave. You can't expect others to do what you yourself won't do. So start living your beliefs.

I try to. For examples:

I run my house on solar power. I'm generating three times as much power as I use and sell the surplus back to the power company.

I have reduced my gasoline usage to less than 200 gallons a year.

I don't have any turf grass in my yard. It is covered with either native plants or food producing plants. I grow almost all the vegetables and about half the fruit I eat at home on my 65 by 120 foot suburban lot without pesticides or commercial fertilizers.

I have reduced my water use to an average of less than 12 gallons a day. I have 1700 gallons of rainwater storage to water my plants, though I try to choose plants that don't need supplemental watering and landscape in a way that retains as much rainwater as possible.

I have a slightly different method Andy... I bought a big ol truck that gets 2 mpg and race up and down the local streets ... My plan is to use up all the gas in the world and force alternative energy on everyone.

I have also figured out how to stop people from eating bad food - I am on a quest to eat all the twinkies and moon pies in the world.

Protests, Eh, Around here a lot of people use the roads and highways for their trash disposals. Probably everwhere. SO, I got the big idea to try to beautify the place a bit.

I found out about roses, got a catalog from my wife's aunt with the most beutiful red rose you had ever seen on the cover. I talked to a friend that had just moved into the neighborhood and showed him the catalog. He had a book he had bought on roses some time before. Then he found out about the American Rose Society. There are local chapters all around the country so somehow we found about them and attended the Deep South district convention.

Then we got the idea to start a local chapter. Somehow we managed to start the chapter and had about 12 members. Later we planted a rose garden at the local hospital. It was an enjoyful time. A few years later the hospital was expanding and the rose garden became a parking lot. The workers at the hospital really enjoyed the rose garden as long as it lasted. Not sure how much the rose garden helped with the liter problem but we tried! See what protests can do! Keep plugging!!

ALL great Comments Above.WALK THE WALK NOT JUST TALK THE TALK.Most don't want to change until they HAVE TO....lolIt's human nature. The one thing that I see that is really bad is that WE seem to make the same mistakes over and over again like a bunch of dumb rocks. Look at Vietnam till NOW....lots of wars and not much results except a lot of dead, abused, used and mutilated Soldiers and devastated Families.

I have a song called THE POWER OF ONE.One person can make a difference by walking the walk BUT Sometimes a Great New Idea in the form of a Novel or Movie or Great Song and Video CAN make a difference. It's like the ripple in a lake from ONE ROCK.SO.....The Other amazing thing to ME is Religion in all it's manifestations from Money Raising to Lunacy. I think Organized religion and in some areas the Brain Washing of entire generations of people is REALLY Scary. I have written about a third of a Novel called GOD@Heaven.com about How God contacts this guy with a message that Religion HAS TO GO....and that we are ALL God's Children.....That's the number ONE problem in the World today in my humble opinion....lolB

I've read everything and thought if was there a right way for the mankind all those times, beginning from the Old Testament, since Cain killed Abel, since ancient Rome, Egypt, Greece? Everything disappeared, and will disappear again, as written -

I used to let world problems bother me. Remember the old political forum? It just ain't worth it. Political views and music don't mix for me anymore. I avoid it. I've never written an opinionated song and don't plan to. A musician should entertain, not preach.

I've been doing some open mic's. I've found that people want to laugh. I've seen others get up to the mic and play mediocre protest type songs and only get mediocre applause. Same thing with sad songs and tragedy songs. Play a funny song with clever lyrics or an upbeat song, and the audience will remember you.

What I remember about a good protest song (having been around in the sixties and seventies) is that they moved us via their painting a picture of an event.

Neil Young's Ohio was about the Kent State shootings\massacre and moved a generation. U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday decade or more later did the same the Irish as it is about the shooting of unarmed protesters.

I guess what I am saying is do not underestimate the power of culture to impact "the conversation".. what people think.

As much as those in power want to control the narrative, and direct or misdirect the conversation, a "lone voice" with the power of truth or fact can greatly influence the national sentiment.

How about Thomas Paine's Common Sense.Anybody else think of ONE great new idea or person that changed a Nation or the World?We NEED more of these songs today BUT Unfortunately the Powers that BE Won't play them...Big Corporations don't want to offend any advertisers OR God Forbid make any NEWS.....lol....Artists ALWAYS show the way and we are sadly lacking them getting exposure today. SAW A GOOD FILM LAST NIGHT CALLED BEGIN AGAIN...A Music Movie and really enjoyable.

My God is better than yoursAnd the walls of my house are so thickI hear nothing at all

I followed you out in the stormBut it carried you offAnd I burned every picture of yoursWas that not enough?

My gun is bigger than yoursSo let's arm the massesAnd see what the bastards do thenWalking tall once set us apartNow we're down on all foursDo you cry my name in the darkLike I do yours?

These storms are getting stronger nowTrusses all bend and swayLightning hits, the power goes out in the frayAs the waves crash highAnd the shoreline disappearsI will scream to the sky"Hey, people live here."

My dreams are not unlike yoursThey long for the safetyAnd break like a glass chandelierBut there's laughter and oh there is loveJust past the edge of our fearsAnd there's chaos when push comes to shoveBut it's music to my ears

May you be in Heaven before the Devil knows you're deadMay these winds be always at your back

'Cause when we're all just ghostsAnd the madness overtakes usWe will look at the ashesAnd say, "People lived here."

From the penthouse to the holy martyrSea to shining seaFrom the coffins full of kindergartenersIs this what you call free?From the hate that drips from all your crossesAre your hands so clean?

There's a wildfire and it's spreading farFrom sea to shining sea

When we're all just ghostsAnd the madness overtakes usI will scream to the sky, yeah I'll scream to the skyYeah I'll scream to the sky"Hey, people live here."